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Monday, July 02, 2012

Munggo with Gata and Kalabasa (mung beans with coconut milk and squash)

The windows of our bedrooms face due east so we get the
sunrise every day. As much a
sunrise as you can get in the middle of the city. Which, actually, has its own special magic…at
least to me. Rays of light suddenly
bursting into being like so many bright yellow arms reaching around towers of concrete,
all at once being reflected and fractured and reflected again, like a beam
going through a thousand prisms, against the steel and glass of the stalwarturbansentinels I call my neighbors.

I love the dawn. Even
if, despite all my best efforts and intentions, I am still not naturally a
morning person. I struggle to wake up,
greedily and groggily clinging to the last vestiges of my slumber. I try vainly to develop and internal body
clock. To date, much to my frustration, it hasn’t kicked
in. Perhaps that’s why I love having the
morning’s new light creep through my bedroom shades, its fingers coaxing me out
from under the covers.

Dawn, unlike any other time of the day, is filled with
such golden promise. Old melancholies
fade away and new potential beckons. It
is that short, sweet, moment that light has resolutely claimed from darkness,
but in which the whisper and allure of dreams still somehow hold subtle
sway. In the calm before the clamor of
the rest of the world crashes in, you can hear the voices that tell you to believe
in what lies in the deepest places of your heart, and in that magic hush
anything is possible.

This dish is not something I would typically associate
with the dawn, but it is a great comfort food.
A hot bowl of this, scooped over a generous serving of rice, can put me
in the same calm place.

- Rinse munggo and pick through for little stones. After I check for stones I like to rinse the
beans through a sieve to get rid of any dirt.

- Place munggo, bay leaf, the quartered onion, and the ginger
in a saucepan or pot that will hold double its volume. Cover with cool water until about 2 inches
above the beans. Set pot on medium heat,
cover, and cook until beans are soft.
This can take anywhere from 30 minutes – 1 hour (depending on how old your beans are). Check occasionally and stir to make sure it
is not drying out and sticking. If it
seems to be drying out just add more water.
Once the beans are soft, set aside.
At this point the level of liquid should be just at the same level as
the beans.

- Heat a kawali (wok) or saucepan over medium-high
heat. Add a few swirls of canola oil
and, when hot, add the chopped onion and garlic. Sautee, stirring, until the onion is soft and
transluscent. Add the hibe and keep
sautéing until the shrimp is coated in
the oil and takes on a little moisture.
Add the cooked munggo and its liquid, the coconut milk, and the
squash. Turn the heat down to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash
is softened. Add the malunggay leaves
and cook for about 15 minutes more.

- Season to taste with the patis (fish sauce). You may need less or more depending on how
salty you hibe is. Give it a final stir
and take off the heat.

- Serve hot with lots of steamed rice.

I love munggo. I also love coconut milk. The two together work brilliantly. The coconut milk’s silky creaminess is perfect with the munggo’s earthiness. The
hibe and the fish sauce give it a rounded savory depth that salt would not be
able to replicate. If you can’t find
hibe where you are, just adjust the seasoning with a bit more fish sauce. If you can't find malunggay you can use sweet potato leaves or, failing that, spinach. Between the munggo, malunggay, and the squash,
this is not only deliciously comforting, but highly nutritious as well. If I weren’t feeding a little one, I also would throw in a couple of green finger chilis (sili pangsigang) to the pot.

I’ve been working on training my body clock to rise “with
the sun”. I love those days that I am
able to. I sit at my desk, an espresso
with steamed milk at my side, its aroma waking my senses up. I raise the shades to let in the new
morning. My family is sleeping and the
streets below my window have yet to fill with their usual bustle. I hear my
dreams whisper to me and, because it is so quiet, I listen in ways I cannot
during the rest of the day. And I whisper
back.

I am really excited that I found your blog! I'm an American teacher/food blogger living in Cebu for the year. We just got here 2 weeks ago and I've already fallen in love with Munggos beans! :) I was hoping to find a recipe for a soup like this - this is perfect! What part of the Philippines do you live in?

Hi Lindsay! I love munggo beans too and there are more recipes on my blog aside from the current one :) They are so versatile! I'm from Manila but if you have any questions just let me know and I'll do my best :) Wishing you the best for your stay here!

Hi Shalum! Truly! This is rainy day food :)

Hi Josephine! Well, this isn’t my usual breakfast either ;) More like lunch or dinner :)

Hi Sanju! I sure that would be delicious! I love lentils :)

Hi Pam! Nice to see another monggo lover! I also make a version where I boil the monggo with a ham bone and sauté with chorizo and bacon (and garlic and onion), and a touch of smoked paprika…this seems to go over well with boys who are not usually fond of monggo :) Maybe your hubby will like it too!

i made this but without gata.. i dont like gata though my daddy is bicolano... it was my 1st time to cook gnsang munggo.1st time. 1st time to use the pressure cooker and everything. well, it was a success. it tasted good. will do it again and make it better... glad i saw your blog... keep on cooking... ^^ ann

Hi Candy! This will feed about 4 people, more or less :) Most of my recipes are for around this amount, unless otherwise specified or obviously a 1-2 serving recipe. I actually, hardly ever make huge portions unless cooking for a crowd :) Hope you enjoy the recipes!